Are you a snowflake?

Its wintertime, and for many around the country snowflakes sprinkle the ground of their front porch. But this holiday season the focus is going to be on other snowflakes, the political ones. For starters, the Urban Dictionary (yes, I did sink that low) defines snowflake as “an extremely fragile individual -often, but not always associated with millennials. Each snowflake is unique and special and can be categorized by age range and political leanings. However, not everyone that meets these profiles is a snowflake. Those who keep an open mind, are respectful, and listen to others opinions are certainly not snowflakes, regardless of what side of the aisle they are on.

LiberalYoung
Some young liberals are the classic, run of the mill snowflakes that Sean Hannity pokes fun at on a nightly basis. Although they will read the occasional CNN or Fox News article, their primary focus is on social issues. While they are important, most judgments on things such as candidates mainly come down to this. Some do not work or still live with their parents, so economic issues are not as much of factor.
Much of this is fine until they deal with people of opposing views. At UC Berkeley, students used Milo Yiannopoulos’s speaking engagement as an opportunity to vandalize their campus. Say something that has the slightest bit of traditional values, they will not have it. Rather than trying to have a discussion, some will, quite literally tune you out and not explain how what you said was incorrect.
As this is the next generation (millennials and Generation Z) of our political and economic world, you wonder where the priorities are going to be in government. All in all, they ‘resist’ but do not know exactly what they are resisting.

Old
This ranges from the hippies of the 1970’s to Congressional old timers like Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). Maxine Waters is a case study for this. In 1994, Maxine Waters was presented with the Mace of the United States House of Representatives. The ‘Mace’ is something that the Sergeant of Arms holds when a member of House becomes unruly. Waters was interrupting a speech by Representative Peter King (R-NY). Now, she made a remark to “Take Trump Out” implying impeachment, at least we think. Either way, she is an example of how for years now older Democrats have been stubborn in listening to Republicans in office.
ConservativeYoung
Think Tomi Lahren. You can also find them by hearing “stock market” or “immigration” during a political debate as the sole argument. Similar to young liberal snowflakes, but instead of following everything that hints at protest, they love anything Trump-related. And Ronald Reagan is also considered a God to them.While he did great work, they use the Conservative ideas made by leaders and use them as a device to discriminate against others. In December 2016 at Royal Oak Middle School in Michigan, a group of students began chanting “Build that Wall!” towards Hispanic students. Regardless of whether or not the proposed wall is a good idea or not, do these students understand what they are saying? Even if they do, the kids should know better than to use it as a bullying tactic to students who may feel marginalized by them chanting.

Old
This is your family from the deep South that you try to avoid having a political conversation with. Devout watchers of Fox News, and nothing else. Most other news sources are seemingly ‘fake news’ to them. These people are also most likely to use the term snowflake about millennial liberals. Many of these conservative snowflakes think that the liberals pushing social norms is damaging to our humanity. When in reality, people need to remember that these new, so-called ‘politically correct’ terms are not complex, people are.
This close-mindedness also fuels far-right candidates or socially conservative ones like Ted Cruz. Xenophobia is also common in the group, mostly cause some have gone through their lives without meeting someone who is Middle Eastern or immigrants, and rely mainly on stereotypes for opinions about people. And keeping in the winter spirit, they get offended when you dare say “Happy Holidays!” instead of “Merry Christmas!” In summary, older conservative snowflakes have a major fear of change and deny it.

In conclusion, everyone who refuses to listen to the other side and thinks they are always incorrect is a snowflake. The thing that should be most shocking is that when Conservatives think what liberals do is absolutely insane, they are also getting offended, and vice versa. Most of the people described seem to be most prominent in media. Bold personalities will always dominate, but that does not change the needs the common American people have. However, it is important that the next generation of voters get proper education on current policy. More discussion in classrooms is vital, and that requires little input from parents and teachers unless acting as a facilitator. Facts and explanations are what students need, not to be brainwashed by their elders.